No malaria cases caused by mosquito bites in China in 2017

There were no people infected with malaria in China via mosquito bites in 2017, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.

The country reported a total of 2,672 malaria cases in which patients were infected abroad, and three cases in which people were infected through blood transfusions, said Mao Qun'an, head of the disease control and prevention division of the commission, at a press conference.

Since 2010, the incidence of malaria has been reduced to less than one out of 10,000 in 95 percent of counties in China, according to Mao.

China used to have more than 24 million malaria cases annually in the early 1970s.

The country aims to eliminate all malaria cases across the country by 2020, Mao said.

International travelers are urged to report possible malaria symptoms to the quarantine authority and go to the hospital promptly.